As part of the intergovernmental Campaign activities, the Council of Europe will organise five regional information and awareness raising seminars in co-operation with the requesting Council of Europe member state. Each of these seminars will be devoted to one of the objectives of the Campaign. Participation upon invitation only.

Regional Seminar on Support and Protection for victims of Domestic Violence: Service needed
(Espoo, Finland, 8-9 October 2007)

The fifth and last regional seminar organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence was held on 8-9 October 2007 in Espoo, Finland.

The seminar was devoted to the protection and support services for victims of domestic violence. It focused on the types of support services needed for victims of domestic violence as well as the structures and organisation of these services.

The following countries were invited to participate in the seminar: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Russian Federation and Sweden.

Regional Seminar on Protection and Specialised Support by the police, health care professionals and social workers for victims of Domestic Violence
(Skopje, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", 11-12 September 2007)

The fourth regional seminar organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence was held on 11-12 September 2007 in Skopje, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.

The seminar was devoted to the protection and specialised support provided by the police, health care professionals and social workers. It focused on the responses of these professions in meeting the needs of victims of domestic violence as well as effective co-operation between these service providers and non-governmental organisations.

The following countries were invited to participate in the seminar: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and Turkey.

Regional Seminar on Data collection as a prerequisite for effective policies to Combat violence against women, including Domestic Violence
(Lisbon, 5 July 2007)

The third regional seminar organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence was held on 5 July 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal.
The seminar was devoted to the issue of the role of data in informing and shaping effective policies to combat violence against women. It focused on the type of data that can be collected: surveys on violence against women as population-based data or administrative data from organisations and institutions which provide services for victims of such violence. How to go about collecting such data and how to use it was explored as much as international developments in harmonising the collection of data.

The second regional seminar to be organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence was held on 9 and 10 May 2007 in Zagreb, Croatia.

The seminar was devoted to men’s active participation in combating domestic violence highlighting one of the main messages of this Council of Europe Campaign. It focused on men not only as perpetrators of violence, but also their role as active agents of change in both preventing violence in the family and protecting the victims of this violence.

The following countries were invited to participate in the seminar: Austria, Croatia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Regional Seminar on Legal Measures to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence
(The Hague, 21-22 February 2007)

The first seminar took place in The Hague on 21-22 February 2007. It provided a forum to exchange information on current developments in the field of law by presenting innovative legal measures. Keynote speakers and national experts shared their experiences on topics such as protection and non-molestation orders, special courts on domestic violence and aggravating circumstances in criminalising domestic violence. In addition, a large part of the seminar was devoted to ways and means in which to guarantee adequate implementation of legal instruments.

The following countries were invited to participate in the seminar: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.